HWM was founded in 1938 by John Heath, a capable racing driver and engineer, at premises on New Zealand Avenue in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey — a building previously used by Vickers for aircraft work during the Second World War. George Abecassis joined Heath in 1946. Their early motorsport efforts began with a streamlined sports racer built on an Alta chassis in 1948, followed by the HW-Alta of 1949. These results convinced the partners to construct a proper team of cars for the 1950 Formula Two season of international events.
HWM operated on an extremely limited budget from their small Surrey garage, yet the team earned a reputation disproportionate to its resources. Over the seven years of their existence as a constructor, fewer than two dozen cars were built, but roughly 70 percent of those survive today.
The team's most celebrated acquisition was a young Stirling Moss, who had previously been racing a Cooper as a privateer. HWM offered him his first professional drive and he raced for the team for nearly two years. Despite the HWM's four-cylinder Alta engine being outpowered by most rivals, the car's all-independent suspension gave it superior handling, and Moss exploited every advantage it offered. He finished third at Reims, behind Ascari's Ferrari and a Gordini; third in the Formula One race at Bari behind the 159 Alfas of Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio; and set fastest lap at Rome while chasing the Ferraris of Ascari and Luigi Villoresi. Other drivers who raced for HWM included Duncan Hamilton, Peter Collins, Harry Schell, Lance Macklin, and Paul Frère.
From 1950 to 1952, HWM achieved remarkable success in Formula Two for a team of its means. In this era, World Championship Grand Prix events were often run to Formula Two regulations, giving the HWMs genuine championship exposure. Johnny Claes scored the first post-war Grand Prix victory by a British car when he won the Belgian Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay.
By 1953, increasing competition had left HWM behind the front-runners. When international regulations changed for 1954 and a proper Formula One was instituted, John Heath built a new car to compete. The car proved off the pace from its first outing at the non-championship Lavant Cup at Goodwood. It retired from the BRDC International Trophy and made its World Championship debut at the French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux, where Lance Macklin qualified 23 seconds slower than Fangio before retiring with engine failure. HWM immediately withdrew from Formula One competition.
Following the Formula One withdrawal, HWM turned to sports car racing with Jaguar-engined machinery from 1953 onward, competing in British and continental events and occasionally beating works Jaguar and Aston Martin teams. The programme ended after John Heath was killed at the wheel of an HWM works car on the 1956 Mille Miglia.
HWM's significance in motorsport history rests on being among the very first British teams to compete internationally at the highest level after the Second World War, doing so with minimal resources and a gifted eye for raw driving talent. The team's willingness to run Stirling Moss in his formative years proved the value of a competitive car placed in the right hands, and the list of drivers who passed through its garage reads as an early roll call of post-war British motorsport.
The Walton-on-Thames business continues today as HWM Aston Martin, the world's oldest Aston Martin dealership, having held the franchise since 1951.